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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: pitcher · chair · leaves · present · field · bat · drill · hide

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. bat — the animal
  3. present — there
  4. drill — army training
  5. present — a gift
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. field — for sport
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. field — farmland
  14. drill — the tool
  15. drill — a practice
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. field — a subject
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. chair — a leader
  23. present — the time now
  24. pitcher — a jug

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com